Is the 'Steam Frame' Valve's Next Hardware Device?

New US Patent and Trademark Office filings from Valve suggest the company is working on a gaming device called the “Steam Frame.”

A Reddit user spotted two trademark filings. The first applies to “Computer game consoles for recreational game playing,” along with peripherals and video game controllers. The second applies to “computer hardware,” including for networking, peripherals and, and computer software for the reproduction, processing, and streaming of audio, video, data, text, and multimedia content.”

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Valve didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but the trademark is sparking plenty of speculation about the company’s hardware plans. Is it a follow-up to Valve’s Index VR headset? There have long been rumors that the company has been working on a next-generation headset, codenamed Deckard.

Some are also wondering if the Steam Frame is Valve’s answer to the PlayStation and Xbox consoles. In 2022, Valve kicked off a new computing category with the Steam Deck PC gaming handheld, which received rave reviews. Rather than running Microsoft Windows, the device uses the Linux-powered SteamOS, which features a software compatibility layer called Proton to run Windows games.

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The Steam Deck’s popularity has sparked speculation that Valve could release a more powerful desktop-like device, which would also compete with traditional video game consoles. We’ll have to wait and see. But gamers are hoping the Steam Frame will also herald the long-anticipated arrival of Half-Life 3, which Valve has also long been rumored to be working on.